United States of Tara

I've been watching United States of Tara since it premiered three weeks ago. It has my name in the title, so I had to check it out. It's on Showtime at 10pm on Sundays. The show is about a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)--formerly named Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). What is also interesting is that Tara has a family--a husband and two teenage kids. It's fascinating watching how her family deals with her alters--what they call the other personalities. It's normal everyday life for them when one of Tara's alters shows up. Her husband is played by John Corbett who is absolutely great in it. You really believe that he loves Tara despite her disorder and the hardships that come with it.

I really wanted to give this show a chance because the concept is so different. But I find that I don't really like Tara when she is Tara. She is more interesting and fun when she becomes one of her three alters--1) T - a teenager, 2) Alice - old-fashioned house wife, and 3) Buck - a very masculine man. When Tara is herself, she looks terrible, washed out and tired. She looks depressed and hardly has any meaningful contact with her family. I don't get the love her family has for her and her love for them. The only interactions she has with her family cause her stress and end with her switching to one of her alters. I hope this show gets better because the cast and concept are great.

After watching United States of Tara, I looked up DID. Here is some things I learned:
- Someone with DID can have up to 100 alters.
- The alters can be different ages, gender, or race. Each has his or her own personality, including postures, gestures, and distinct way of talking.
- Sometimes the alters are aware of each other. But one is always in control.
- A primary symptom of DID is memory loss beyond the normal forgetfulness.